


The Day They Opened Up The Door

by Stewbacca94



Series: RWBY Reddit Ramblings [6]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hell, Horror, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17861783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stewbacca94/pseuds/Stewbacca94
Summary: In order to save Remnant from destruction at Salem's hands, Ruby must find the Crown of Choice. But will she be prepared for what awaits her within its resting place?





	The Day They Opened Up The Door

****

###  **The Day They Opened Up The Door**

This was it. The CCT had been restored, the Faunus given equal rights everywhere after their role in Haven's salvation and Jacques Schnee's downfall. Dr. Watts and Tyrian were dead, Cinder was encased in stone, and the remaining lieutenants of Salem had surrendered. And at long last, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang were ready to unite the four Relics. They would not ask for the gods to restore humanity to their erstwhile glory, but instead to remove Salem and the Grimm from Remnant forever.

As Ozpin had confessed well before now, Beacon's vault had been a decoy. Instead, the  _true_  location of the Crown of Choice was hidden within plain sight - it lay within the tomb of the last King of Vale, Ozymandias. His private mausoleum was built within the furthest reaches of the tomb, and only the other three Relics could open the door.

With JNPR and Qrow guarding the tomb's entrance from any Grimm in the area, team RWBY strode forth. Yang held the Lantern of Knowledge to light the way, Weiss wielded the Sword of Destruction against the monsters drawn to the Crown Of Choice, and Blake used the Spear of Creation to make paths over ruined sections of the Vale Royal Crypts. As for Ruby, she stood between her three teammates, conserving her energy for the task of reasoning with the Twin Gods.

After an hour of searching, the four girls spied the door to Ozymandias's resting place. It was made of solid basalt, with etchings that indicated the door frame. A dais lay in front of the door, with slots for the other three relics to be placed. Without a word, Weiss placed the Sword in its place on the left, with Blake leaving the Spear in the right-most slot. Standing back, they made room for Yang as she set the Lantern down in the bowl within the middle.

For five seconds, nothing happened. Then suddenly, the etchings glowed a sickly white, growing in intensity until the same colour of light appeared as a drop in the middle of the door. It grew ever outward, slowly but surely until it reached the etchings around the edge. Then, a vortex of wind burst from it, and everyone except from Ruby was frozen in their spots. Ruby herself tried to run away, but the vortex overpowered her Semblance and dragged her into the basalt.

* * *

Recovering, Ruby found herself standing on an obsidian platform within an boundless, eternal inferno. Behind her lay the basalt door with white light that she'd entered through. On the opposite side was the mummified corpse of Ozymandias encased in glass, with the Crown of Choice atop the case itself. But as she walked forward, someone else materialised before her. Someone  _very_  familiar.

"M-Mom?!", Ruby stammered.

The white-garbed figure turned to face her, and Ruby was forever haunted by the sight. Summer Rose's eyes were the only relief of colour on her body amongst the congealed blood that dotted her face. Half of her teeth were missing, bruises marked her neck and jawline, and burn scars had marred her hair and arms. Both of her legs were missing below the knee, meaning that Summer floated on thin air as blood dripped from her open wounds. And last but not least, the severed stinger of a scorpion Faunus's tail had ran her through the mid-section.

Ruby  _narrowly_  bit down on the urge to scream at her mother's fate, but began to tear up all the same.

"This," Summer Rose called in a painful voice of legions, "is the realm of the damned. What business do you have among us, mortal?"

Steeling herself in the face of her worst fear, Ruby drew herself up.

"I seek the Crown of Choice," Ruby stated boldly, "for we are to recall the Twin Gods to Remnant to remove the Grimm."

The apparition said nothing, gazing into the soul of the girl before her. Suddenly, the apparition stretched out her hand, and the Crown of Choice flew to Ruby's hands.

"Take it and leave," the apparition barked, "for no one else can leave other than the Crown's wielder."

Ruby nodded, running towards the basalt door and jumping through.

* * *

The next thing Ruby knew, she was in the tomb again, and the basalt door stopped glowing. True to word, the Crown was still within her hands.

"Okay," Yang said, "let's put this down on the table."

Ruby glumly placed the Crown around the Lantern.

"What's wrong?", Blake asked as the roof above them opened to reveal the night sky.

"The crown was stored in hell," Ruby muttered, "and Mom's trapped in there."

She then began to cry and wail as the platform they stood on began to rise with the dais.

"And there's  _nothing I can_   _ **do**_  about it! The Gods won't let me free her, and Jinn's questions have all been used up! How can I  _live_  knowing she's  _stuck_  in there?"

Yang stood in shock at what she'd heard, before Weiss pre-emptively hugged her before Yang too collapsed as they soared past the tomb's roof. Blake did the same for Ruby, calmly humming a tune as Ruby sobbed into Blake's shoulder.

"We could say the same for every life lost in this battle, Ruby," Blake calmly. "I remember how hard it was for me to lose Sun. But I know he'd never want me to stop fighting because I lost him."

"Same thing for me and Ilia," Yang admitted as she stopped tearing up. "She'd never want me to give up when I could still make a difference."

"Quite right," Weiss said to the group at large as the platform stopped moving at the cloud tops. "We don't just stop living because someone else dies. All we can do is live our lives to the fullest and make sure we leave the world in a better shape than we found it in."

Ruby nodded mutely as the Twin Gods began to materialise around the group. "You're right guys. Now let's finish this quest."


End file.
